'Ex-WB minister Sujit Bose funnelled municipality 'scam' funds into his restaurant, bar, flats'

Arrested West Bengal minister and TMC leader Sujit Bose "infused" illicit cash obtained from an alleged municipality recruitment scam into his Chinese food restaurant and other hospitality ventures including a bar, the Enforcement Directorate alleged in its latest chargesheet. In a statement on Saturday, the federal agency said it filed a prosecution complaint on July 9 against Bose, a former minister for fire and emergency services; his son Samudra Bose; IAS officer and former director of local bodies Jyotishman Chattopadhyay, and some others before a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Kolkata. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sujit Bose in May. He is currently lodged in a Kolkata prison. In the statement, ED claimed that Bose, also a former vice-chairman of the South Dumdum Municipality, "illegally" recommended 340 candidates for various posts in the municipality, and 284 of them secured appointment during 2014-22. "The proceeds of the crime so generated and received from undeserving candidates were initially infused into his (Sujit Bose) proprietorship concern, Chinese Quisine Restaurant, by projecting it as legitimate cash sales despite its limited business operations. Huge cash deposits were made in bank accounts, even during the Covid lockdown period," the ED claimed.

A three-time sitting MLA from Bidhannagar, Bose lost the recent assembly elections to BJP candidate Sharadwat Mukherjee by a margin of more than 37,000 votes. The ED had raided him in October 2025, apart from former food and civil supplies minister Rathin Ghosh. Bose has denied wrongdoing in these recruitments. The ED further alleged that funds drawn from the Chinese restaurant were "utilised" to finance and expand hospitality entities -- including Shree Venkatesh Banquets and Speciality Dhaba LLP (which ran Bengal Dhaba and The Bar & Lounge) -- through capital contributions and unsecured loans. It said additional funds for the acquisition of properties were arranged through borrowings from various shell companies and individuals, which were later repaid by routing the proceeds of crime through "inflated" and "bogus" cash sales of the hospitality entities.

The agency said Bose was the beneficiary of "direct" proceeds of crime in the form of multiple flats in lieu of ensuring jobs to certain individuals. Bose, the ED charged, not only vitiated the recruitment process of South Dumdum Municipality but also "expropriated" the authority of fair and transparent recruitment from the municipality and administered illegal appointment in lieu of pecuniary gains. Pointing to the alleged involvement of IAS officer Jyotishman Chattopadhyay, the ED said he "abused his position" to facilitate, legitimise and regularise illegal appointments in various municipalities, especially the one at South Dumdum in "complete violation" of the prescribed recruitment procedure. "Chattopadhyay approved the proposal relating to the additional 29 appointments in South Dumdum Municipality as a special case, despite the complete absence of mandatory documents required under the applicable government guidelines," the ED alleged. This is the second chargesheet in the case. The first was filed against Ayan Sil in February 2025. Sil was the director of a company named ABS Infozon, which was responsible for the printing of question papers, OMR sheets and evaluation of marks obtained by the candidates and preparation of the merit list for various municipal corporations of the state.